Beware The Water

Wake

Lux held her breath as she found a spot to sit at the back of the church while numerous people filed in from the side doors. Right beside her was Yuji, who had his hair slicked back and wore a black fitted button up that was tucked into a pair of slim black slacks that came to a rest just above his shiny leather shoes. He scooted over so Lux could place her black velvet clutch between them and he briefly examined the side profile of her face.

Beneath the caked up concealer under Lux's eye was the aftermath of a healing wound. It was cracked and flaking from the dried skin and matte make up. Lux had gone over it several times but no amount of cover up or lack of could make her cut any less noticeable. Even with the lighting of the church being more dim from the black clouds that shielded sun from shining through the stained glass, a zit on the forehead would have been less obvious than the reminder that was left on her face from that night.

"Come alone?"

Lux's hands stayed folded tight on her lap and kept her gaze low, focusing on the shine of the marble floor instead of the coffin that was displayed at the front of the church. "Mhm." She nodded stiff, still with her eyes pointed down.

"I saw your parents." He said, "They're sitting closer to the front. You should join them."

Lux didn't respond. Instead her eyes darted to the officers, all dressed in navy blue, who continued to file in and take their seats in the first few rows. Her pulse ticked faster with each passerby, feeling as if each one had UV vision and could see traces of the blood that lingered on her hands. The thought made Lux tighten the grasp she now had on her black velvet dress, keeping them from trembling. She could still feel the ghost weight of Shorter's gun in her hands and the night terrors forced her to relive the trauma of seeing Sheng's body crumple and bleed out at her feet.

At the front of the church, Sheriff Sheng's coffin sat draped with the American flag, flanked by Voight and Wydell, standing at attention. Lux became disturbed by how easily Voight convincingly portrayed sorrow with the way he strategically wiped his eyes dry whenever someone of importance like fellow officers and judges passed by as they made their way to the packed pews.

She could never forget how Voight was so unbothered at the sight of Sheng lying there dead right before his eyes. How he didn't show a single ounce of sympathy towards the situation and threw together a cover story to keep her and Shorter's names out of it. The two officers worked together for nearly three decades and Voight treated Sheng's case like any other that he was paid off to cover up in the past.

The service went on slow, there were speeches given by many sharing stories about Sheng's bravery and how he was a stand out at the academy. Detective Wydell gave a teary speech about how Sheng took him under his wing and taught him about honor and justice, and how those who disrespected what the badge stood for would have to answer to their god in the end.

Lux swallowed hard at the last words, forcing herself not to flinch. She was guilty of a crime and even though she'd never pay for what she had done, she believed that there was karma just around the corner.

When the service ended, mourners- which felt like the whole city, filtered forward to say a prayer at the coffin and pay respects to the family. Lux hesitated, not knowing how she could look Sheng's family in the eyes and not break down at the truth of his death. They'd go on for an eternity accepting a lie that would be told time and time again until the truth was no longer in question.

"C'mon." Yuji put out his hand for Lux to grab ahold of, "If you don't wanna be noticed then follow the crowd." He said. Lux looked up and saw several people staring at her and sharing whispers.

Her name and reputation had become kind of infamous to people who knew her family. The daughter of two defense lawyers now dating the leader of the Chinese Mafia sounded like a story that was bound to end in tragedy. Some felt sorry and saw this as a young girl losing her way and others saw it as her parents karma for being the reason the mafia still grows strong by keeping gangsters on the streets.